work was also used for the especially rare license-holder, as it was designed to hold a Hunting License rather than being just a regular envelope, and the stationery letterhead shown above left. As a matter of record, we've found very fewWinchester letterheads with these elaborate logos. Another rare example is shown at the upper right and used N.C. Wyeth's “Dawn at Open Season.” Goodwin's “Unwelcome Visitor,” once used by Winchester to advertise the .401 Self-Loading Rifle, is shown above center on a 1928 post-marked envelope and is another example of how the company continually modified original paintings to meet current advertising needs. One of the rarest and most desirable envelopes is the Winchester Cowgirl envelope. This image was used for a very rare and desirable Winchester poster. It was also used to mail the catalog with the same image on the front cover, shown opposite top. The catalog was folded in half and mailed in the matching envelope. We have two different examples of this envelope that were both mailed from outside the United States and have the advertising written in Spanish. This envelope does not have the Rice logo but does have the Red W Brand on the flap,and could have been produced before or after the company's membership in the Rice Association. Since both examples we have were postmarked after this date, the dealers who used them may have also been using up their existing inventories. There are many other envelopes that Winchester used over the years, including some with the Winchester Junior Rifle Corps logo…but none would ever match up to these delightful vignettes of color sent in the mail during Winchester’s early years. These are small but very 38 | WINCHESTERCOLLECTOR.ORG • Summer 2022
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